Page 500 - My FlipBook

498 DENTAL MEDICINE.

also claimed that pental anaesthesia differs from chloroform in that
it takes place more rapidly, and that there is no effect upon the
action of the heart or respiration, and the administration in large
quantities appears to be absolutely free from danger. Narcosis is
produced by pental in from 40 to 45 seconds, and the rules and
precautions in administering it are the same as for all other
anaesthetics. Nervous and infirm patients require more of pental
than the robust ; and it is not always possible to determine when
the anaesthesia is complete, as the corneal reflex remains some-
what long ; and even though the raised hand should not fall back
powerless, the anaesthesia may have occurred. Drs. H. C.
Wood and D. Cerna, however, from experiments made with
pental, arrived at the conclusion that pental will probably prove
to be a dangerous anaesthetic, and if extensively used will produce
death by cardiac arrest ; and they also say that it is probable that
the after-effects in the human being would be disagreeable, as
they noticed in a dog a peculiar wild excitement directly after the
anaesthesia had passed off. Pental is best administered by means
of Junker's inhaler, which also weakens its unpleasant odor; the
use of other apparatus occasi'ons too much loss, as it is very vola-
tile, and consumes more time. When taken up by the blood,
pental is separated into two substances—water and carbonic acid.
All apparel which impedes free breathing should be removed
during the administration of pental, and the room be somewhat
darkened.
Dental Uses.—Pental is employed as a general anaesthetic in
dental practice, principally for the extraction of teeth, and Dr.
Hollander claims that in the case of a single extraction it is not
necessary to wait for the disappearance of the corneal reflex, as it
sometimes occurs rapidly, and at other times very slowly ; and
that the narcosis, although somewhat slower than bromide of
ethyl, lasts longer, the duration being from three to seven minutes,
and the time for its production one-half to two minutes. Dr.
Hollander also claims that pental has produced anesthesia when
several other prominent agents have failed ; but from the fact
that unpleasant incidents have occurred during its use it should be
very carefully administered.